


For Once, I Think I'll Stay

by harrythe



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Klaus Lives, F/M, Fluff, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:28:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22069282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harrythe/pseuds/harrythe
Summary: She’s not going to put a name to this yet, even as her body curls closer. His warmth is inviting, one strong muscled arm pulling her closer still. His breath hitches, and for the first time she thinks they’ve both found the meaning of the word stay. She thinks of Matt, of secrets and lies, and the eventual feeling of her heart being ripped in half. She thinks of Tyler, of a dorm room so far away, and the overwhelming feeling of not being enough. She thinks of Stefan, and a wedding, and a pleading last minute phone call hoping it’s enough.And she thinks of Klaus, of one final desperate plea to stay.
Relationships: Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson, Caroline Forbes/Other(s)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 109





	For Once, I Think I'll Stay

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Beautifulsoulheart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beautifulsoulheart/gifts).



> AKA, the alternate universe where Klaus doesn’t sacrifice himself, though it's ambiguous how he managed to do that, and he and Caroline are going to live happily ever after. 
> 
> Happy New Year, and happy new decade! Here's to a new year where I finally clear out my drafts and finish stories, including the ones I already have unfinished on here.
> 
> And to Ronie, who has been there for me through everything that happened this year, here's to you, and here's to what 2020 has in store!

_Please don’t leave_ , she thinks, when the morning sun dawns and slips quietly above the horizon. She’s been awake for the better part of an hour, just listening for any change in his breathing pattern to indicate that he’s awake beside her. It’s a comforting sound, something she hasn’t had in a while, and not something she would have thought she’d have even a few short weeks ago. He was always meant to be a footnote monster in her story, and not her happily ever after. 

_He’s your first love, I intend to be your last_ plays like a loop around her head. 

She’s not going to put a name to this yet, even as her body curls closer. His warmth is inviting, one strong muscled arm pulling her closer still. His breath hitches, and for the first time she thinks they’ve both found the meaning of the word _stay_. She thinks of Matt, of secrets and lies, and the eventual feeling of her heart being ripped in half. She thinks of Tyler, of a dorm room so far away, and the overwhelming feeling of not being enough. She thinks of Stefan, and a wedding, and a pleading last minute phone call hoping it’s enough. 

And she thinks of Klaus, of one final desperate plea to stay. She thinks of a promise, spoken softly across what feels like the vast expanse of the football field they were standing on, her heart still racing from her near death experience. She thinks of a phone call in desperation and him being an anchor on the other side, as she cradles one daughter in close. And she thinks of her stomach dropping out beneath her as someone tells her that they haven’t heard from Klaus in years. 

She thinks of the last time they did this, her back pressed against a tree and then the forest floor, sure that it was going to be the last time even as her heart hoped for more. She thinks of dances that seem to last forever as he holds her close her heart betraying what her head never could. And she thinks of a kiss in some seedy bar in New Orleans, breath tasting of alcohol, as she promises to never forget him. 

Alaric told her once, that Klaus clouds her judgement, and it’s true. He invades everything, makes her question what she thought she once knew. She’s distracted around him, intoxicated. But he’s also the person that even in death, made her feel the most alive. She’s breathless when she’s around him, in the good kind of way, never knowing what’s going to happen next. He keeps her on her toes, leaves her wanting more. 

Elena jokes that she’s always had a soft spot for the bad boys, and perhaps that’s true. It’s what first attracted her to Damon, all those years ago, though she quickly pushes that thought aside. She tries hard to repress the bile that rises up in her throat at the thought of those few short weeks she’d spent under Damon’s control. She may have forgiven him a long time ago, but it still makes her skin crawl to think about it. 

Matt had been a sweetheart, and perhaps that’s why they’d eventually fallen apart. Matt had soothed the broken parts of her, softened her hard edges and tore down walls that she so desperately tried to patch together. He was perfect for her after what happened with Damon, and perhaps that’s why she loved him so fast, and so hard, in the beginning. Matt saw her for who she was, instead of the girl she was trying so hard to be, but his heart still belonged to Elena, and she was still looking for someone who was a little more rough around the edges. 

Tyler was a mixture of both the bad and the good, just enough roughness to pique her interest at first, but enough of a good guy to get her to stay. And stay she did. She clung to Tyler, not just because they understood each other, but because as rough and gruff as Tyler could be with people in general, he always had a soft spot for her. A gentleness that soothed the dangerous parts of her. With Tyler, she could completely be herself, in a way that she couldn’t be with Matt. And in another life, maybe they would have been enough. Tyler was her first real love, as honest and true as she knew how to be. When he first left her, heart broken and bleeding on a dorm room floor, she was sure she would never be whole again, that half of her heart lived in Tyler, wherever he may have been. And even though he’s gone now, she’s sure there is still at least a piece of her heart with him. 

Stefan, Stefan was something she had never really saw coming. He’d been her best friend for so long, that at some point, it only seemed natural to at least try. And try they did, her wedding rings tucked carefully away in a drawer at home, along with the piece of her heart that would always belong to him. The line between friendship and lovers was a thin one, and falling in love with your best friend was the easiest thing in the world. Stefan was good for her, he always had been. He loved her through everything, and she’ll always be grateful that she got to experience that great epic love he was always capable of. But some part of her, some deep dark part of her, always wondered if she would have stood a chance if Elena hadn’t been put under a sleeping curse, because that same part of her whispered that Stefan would always be hers. And in the end, he left her all the same, though she would never fault him for that, his self-sacrificial nature being what it was.

Which brings her back to the man beside her.The one who was always in the background, the footnote in her story. Klaus surprised her, he always did. The initial attraction that she tried so hard to clamp down still makes her chuckle. She’d hated herself for finding him attractive, especially considering that he was trying so hard to kill her boyfriend at the time. The parts of her that were awoken as she lay dying, the bite mark still fresh on her wrist, and he promised her the world, if she’d let him. She’d been so naive back then, barely eighteen, and her heart a muddled mess with all the back and forth with Tyler, that Klaus kind of snuck up on her, and took root in her heart, before she had even really realized what was happening. And there he had stayed, a piece of her heart that couldn’t be shaken. 

She thinks of a dress delivered to her bedroom just when she needed it most. A forbidden dance that lasted a fraction of a second too long. A sketch left for her that told a thousand stories, if she’d let it.

And as the years went on, and Tyler faded away, the feelings for Klaus grew stronger and stronger, until they culminated with that day in the woods, where she let them loose. She’d never felt more alive than in that moment, clutching him to her, with desperate, frantic movements, that he mirrored, as if they’d never have another chance. And she was sure back then that it might really have been their only chance. Just a quick romp in the woods, to get him out from under her skin. But the feelings persisted in the weeks that followed, and she found herself craving more, because Klaus had once promised her the world, and she found that hard to forget. The feelings she thought would leave once she finally sated her curiosity only grew stronger as he made good on his promise and left her alone.

But she locked them away in a box, where she thought she’d never have to deal with them again, because eventually she thought she had found her forever with Stefan. And perhaps in another life, that really would have been it.

But then came that fateful desperate phone call that was meant for Stefan and was answered by Klaus instead. All the feelings that she thought she’d locked away came flooding back in that moment, as he soothed her worst fears, and she’s sure that was the moment that things would never be the same. Klaus had somehow managed to work his way back under her skin, and there he had stayed, until she showed up in New Orleans, news of his impending demise reaching her ears. 

She’ll never forget the look on his face when she told him that he was never the villain in her story. Because he really wasn’t. He may have been the villain for all her friends, some big bad wolf to defeat, but he wasn’t that for her. How could he be, when he promised her the world, and she took him up on the offer? She’s seen the soft parts of him, the caring dad, the passionate lover, the brother who loved his siblings fiercely, even if he didn’t always show it. He could never be the villain to her. And perhaps that’s the moment he started looking for another way, for something more. He fought to get back to her, because she was finally waiting on the other side. 

She had also thought she’d let him chase her for a few more centuries, a game of cat and mouse that he was sure to win eventually, because Klaus may have always had the biggest pieces of her heart, but there’s nothing either of them love more than a chase. _I intend to be your last_ still echoes in her heart, though they’re more welcome now than they were when she first heard them. 

The body next to her stretches, and she holds her breath, as the arm around her tightens again, pulling her practically on top of him. He gently tucks her hair behind her ears when it falls forward onto her face, his face gentle, in ways that she’s never seen it before. And when he smiles at her, she feels the stress of the last few weeks melt away, because it’s finally over. This morning finally feels like the beginning of forever. The start of something new, or something sliding into place that’s been there all along. 

“Morning, love,” his deep, sleep-coated voice rumbles, causing small tingles to shiver up her spine. 

“Klaus,” she greets, voice equally rough from sleep. Her hands rest on his chest, as he traces patterns on the bare skin of her back. _I, L_.

“Did you sleep well?” _O._

“Better than I have in a long time,” she admits quietly. _V_.

“Because of me?” To anyone else, it would have sounded amused, or smug, but she could detect the faint trace of uncertainty. _E_. 

“Because of you,” she aqueises, too much time spent denying what she wants to even try to be subtle and coy about this. _Y_.

“One would almost think you cared,” he muses. _O_. 

She’s about to say retort back, until she feels the gentle curve being traced on her spine, and the finger finally stills, and she realizes it for what it is. _U_.

“I love you too,” she said quietly, voice as soft as the morning light that is beginning to creep into the room they’re in. 

His breath hitches, in disbelief, in shock, in awe, before he gently leans in closer, pressing his lips to hers as gently as he’d kissed her cheek on a football field that feels miles and years away. 

Lat night had been all desperate kisses, hands constantly reaching out to touch each other, the bed, whatever was in reach, as a way of grounding themselves. They’d finally found each other, and they needed to be sure of what was real. 

This morning is gentle touches, and soft sighs. A reassurance of what was promised the night before. A grounding anchor for them to hold onto. A home for them to come back to. 

And when it’s over, and they’re laying side-by-side, catching their breaths, his hand finds hers, fingers squeezing gently, as he gives her what she needs most. 

“There’s a whole world waiting for us, love.” 

And she smiles, heart finally at peace, content to bask in his love. Forever. 

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from Camila Cabello's "Used To This". Figured it was appropriate for those two. Anyways, hopefully I'll have something new to post soon!


End file.
